{"id":27401,"date":"2020-06-24T07:07:28","date_gmt":"2020-06-24T15:07:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/?p=27401"},"modified":"2020-06-25T06:25:50","modified_gmt":"2020-06-25T14:25:50","slug":"fourth-of-july-a-damp-squib","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/fourth-of-july-a-damp-squib\/","title":{"rendered":"Fourth of July a damp squib?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Las Vegas<\/strong> had better prepare for Fourth of July disappointment, at least if WalletHub<\/strong> is correct. A survey of consumers found that 78% will be spending less<\/a> this Fourth, 75% have modified their summer plans and 38% have canceled them outright. Three-quarters of survey respondents say they don’t plan to travel this Fourth, 42% intend to shop instead and\u2014get this\u201467% don’t think local governments should be spending taxpayer money on fireworks. At least the casino companies can redress that last complaint. Still, hotel rates in Vegas for the Fourth seem to anticipate a big turnout. Is that reflecting demand or tradition?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baseball players caved to an owners’ ultimatum and agreed to report<\/a> for ‘spring’ training July 1. Among the concessions are a 60-game season, extra innings that begin with a baserunner on second (that sound you hear is purists like us gagging), a universal designated hitter (Booo!) and the collapse of the leagues and divisions into four all-encompassing divisions. One concession to tradition is the retention of a 10-team playoff format. Players will receive 100% of their prorated salaries. MLB<\/strong> and the players union are still hammering out health and safety protocols. It’s not much but it’s better than nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Speaking of safety protocols, the Culinary Union<\/strong> wants you to wear a mask, whether you’re an employee or a tourist. The Unite-Here<\/strong> local estimates that only 10%-20% of customers are wearing masks. (We don’t leave home without ours.) While the Culinary supports the Nevada Gaming Control Board<\/strong>‘s edict that players wear masks at table games without plexiglas shields, the union isn’t stopping there. It wants mask-wearing made mandatory for all customers. Ditto employees<\/a>. Said Secretary-Treasurer Geoconda Arg\u00fcello-Kline<\/strong>, \u201cWe need more protection. I don\u2019t ask for this protection for only the hospitality workers that we represent. We are asking for all the casinos in Nevada.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was seconded by Flamingo<\/strong> housekeeper Diana Thomas<\/strong>, who added, \u201cWe\u2019re frontline workers coming back to work. We don\u2019t know who we\u2019re dealing with. We have to all be safe so we can continue work.\u201d Gov. Steve Sisolak<\/strong> (D) is hemming and hawing over “enhanced” face-mask policies but the Culinary wants a Gov. Gavin Newsom<\/strong>-style regimen whereby masks are not only mandatory indoors but in al fresco situations where you can’t socially distance yourself (like a Fourth of July celebration?).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas<\/strong> is reopening two nightclubs, reportedly in “more serene” style. BoomBox at Marquee<\/strong> and The Barbershop Cuts & Cocktails<\/strong> are returning. The latter will operate at reduced capacity<\/a>, supply disposable and digital menus, and take employees’ temperature before every shift. Admission will be on a reservation-only basis. BoomBox will still be offering live DJs and poolside partying, so it sounds about as “serene” as a box of TNT.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Is it legitimate news that offshore betting sites like Bovada<\/strong> were so desperate for action they were offering bets on the weather (and Bernie Sanders<\/strong>)? We believe it is. American Gaming Association<\/strong> President Bill Miller<\/strong>, meanwhile, thinks the media should bury its head in the sand and Global Gaming Business<\/em> just handed him a megaphone<\/a>. (At least it’s a step up from Miller’s previous forum, LinkedIn<\/strong>.) Per Miller’s reasoning, because sites like Bovada are illegal in the U.S., they should not be reported upon. That’s like saying because murder is against the law, we should keep it out of the papers. Miller’s rickety argument is that reiterating, say, William Hill<\/strong>‘s U.S. election wagers is tantamount to “legitimizing” them in the United States<\/strong>. Malarkey. Hogwash. A pig in a poke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cUnfortunately, many consumers are still unable to distinguish between safe, legal U.S. sportsbooks and unregulated offshore operators,\u201d complains Miller. \u201cThis becomes especially difficult when mainstream publications continue to legitimize the dangerous illegal market, blurring the lines between legal, regulated sports betting and the predatory, unregulated offshore market.\u201d To hear him tell it, when we write about Costa Rican bookies, we’re complicit by association with human trafficking, drug smuggling and money laundering. (You can’t make this shyte up.) Fumed Miller to GGB<\/em>, \u201cThese are not just offshore operators. They are illegal, and the public should stay away from them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s right. The AGA can’t get its own message across so it wants to kill the messenger. The news media, he says, is nefariously \u201creally looking for eyeballs.\u201d As for the offshore sites, “they don\u2019t contribute to tax revenues in the state, they don\u2019t produce any jobs in the country and there is no guarantee you\u2019ll get paid.\u201d We have to call B.S. on the association’s claim that \u201cAny time we see an outlet that references some offshore site, we reach out with some educational material, saying this is not regulated in the U.S., and here are the dangers associated with promoting them.\u201d S&G<\/em> reports regularly on overseas action and never has been contacted by the AGA thereupon … and they know how to reach us when they want<\/em> to, believe you me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of Miller’s signature accomplishments was helping get rid of the Bradley Act<\/strong>. Dangerously, he wants to let the federal government back into the regulatory tent again. He says darkly “my hope is that the Department of Justice<\/strong> also will be more vigilant in helping us grow the nascent U.S. market and destroy the illegal market. [How can it ‘destroy’ something outside U.S. waters?] I talk all the time with regulators, who understand and share that view.\u201d Does he? Color us skeptical.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Las Vegas had better prepare for Fourth of July disappointment, at least if WalletHub is correct. A survey of consumers found that 78% will be spending less this Fourth, 75% have modified their summer plans and 38% have canceled them … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26384,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[249,113,66,151,14,4,283,25,243,252],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27401"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27401"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27401\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27402,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27401\/revisions\/27402"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27401"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27401"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lasvegasadvisor.com\/stiffs-and-georges\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27401"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}